What IS the Root of Evil?

So many times we hear that money is the root of all evil. Unfortunately, that is a common miss-quote of God's Word. He tells us in First Timothy 6:10, "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil" (italics added). It does seem to ring true doesn't it? Money is a source of trouble for many people. If you have too little and even sometimes if you have too much it becomes something that is quarreled over, cried over and coveted. But is money really the major source of evil? God tells us that it is a root of all kinds of evil, not the root. If there were a "top ten" list for sources of evil, love of money would be on it for sure, but what other things would make that list? I believe pride would be pretty close to the top. 

What was the first sin of all time? A quick response to this may be disobedience to God in the "Garden" but the first sin ever was when Lucifer, a beautiful and worthy angel desired to be equal to God Himself. That was the first sin and it was PRIDE (see Isaiah 14:10-14). As I was considering an area of my life that has an ongoing unresolved issue I realized that pride was at the root. This started me thinking about sin in general.

What is the cause of most sin? When we lie to protect our reputation; isn't that pride? What about when we speed or run a red light; aren't we saying that our agenda is more important than the law or even the lives of those around us as we do these things? If I cheat on my taxes because I don't think that it is fair that the government gets as much as it does; isn't that an indication that I know better than those God put in authority over me? Complaining or grumbling about our stressful life situations, like work or relationships is also pride because we are not considering that God, who is Almighty, has control over these situations and He could change them in a flash if He chose to. Complaining and grumbling indicates discontentment and discontentment indicates ungratefulness which indicates pride because where we are in life isn't good enough for us!

If you do a word search on "pride" in your Bible, you will find that God talks about it quite a bit! I found over 100 verses (using the words; pride, proud and haughty) that refer to pride in a negative sense. Most verses either refer to the destruction that comes from pride or teach that it is a sin. Pride is what caused God to allow the Israelites to be exiled by the Assyrians and the Babylonians. They would not turn to God because they had their own plans and ideas. A walk through the Old Testament will paint a clear picture of what disobedience through pride will do. It isn't a pretty picture at that! 

So what sins or struggles do you have that are rooted in pride? If you don't know if pride is the root, start with prayer and then do a word search of your own. You may be very surprised at what you find! Pride isn't a worse sin than any other, but it is an indication that we view ourselves higher than we ought. Many times, once we determine the cause of our sin it is easier to break free from it! I pray that the Lord will show you exactly what you need to see and then give you the strength and wisdom to confront it.

Read Isaiah 14:10-14 to learn about the "fall" of Lucifer.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Aretha Franklin sang these words: "R E S P E C T find out what it means to me". They have been quoted repeatedly over the past few decades. You may have even stated them yourself; I have! The topic of respect is something that my friend and I were recently discussing. The question was posed: "How do you respect someone?" I have considered this question for the past week and this is what I have concluded.

The Biblical ideas and truths regarding respect start with our respect for God. The phrase, "to fear God" is used in His Word too many times for me to count. Many times this phrase is viewed as a negative term. Thoughts of being fearful and afraid come to mind and therefore can cause us to picture God as an angry and scary God. While there is truth to the fact that His wrath is something to fear and to tremble at, the term actually refers to having a healthy respect for Him. I don't "fear" the highway patrolman that is behind me (unless I am disobeying the law), but I have a healthy respect for his authority to give me a ticket if I stray from the roadway rules. God is not only worthy of our respect, but He tells us in Malachi 1:6 that it is "due Him". So from God's own Words, we are instructed to respect Him.

What about respecting those around us? Do people have to earn it or are we also required to respect them by God's law? Let's take a look and see!

As I was searching the Scriptures for verses that give us direction regarding respect, I found much more than I had expected. In Leviticus 19:3 we learn that we are to respect our parents and in 19:32 the elderly. Paul teaches the Thessalonians’ to "respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord". First Peter 3:7 tells us to "...be considerate to your wives and treat them with respect..." but here is the kicker; Peter also instructs in 2:17 "Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God and honor the king." Evidently, respect is something that we are to do because we "fear God" and want to abide in Him. Not because they have earned it or it is "due" them, but because it is "due" God.

During my research of "respect", I did find a few verses that refer to earning respect. Proverbs 11:16 tells us that a kindhearted woman gains respect; First Thessalonians 4:11-12 instructs us how to live so that our daily lives may win the respect of outsiders. These verses however, don't tell us that it is only by doing these things we will be respected but that by doing these things we will allow others to respect us more easily.

I have come to the conclusion that we are instructed by God to respect others because we respect Him. There truly isn't anyone, other than Jesus, who throughout their whole life has lived worthy of complete and total respect from everyone they have encountered. Respect is a gift that we offer to those around us so they may glimpse the grace and mercy God has offered us, even if, in our eyes, they don't deserve it. God answered Aretha's query by telling us that R E S P E C T means L O V E. Amen? Who do you need to respect today?